[Splenivore]

Most property has value without artificial legal limitations.

I agree that 5-10 years is probably too short of a period for intellectual property to be protected. Honestly, putting an arbitrary span of time on the duration is a suboptimal way of accomplishing the goals of copyright law. Why not protect an artist’s creation as long as he or she is alive, and then release it into the public domain upon his or her death? One of the main problems with the current system is that corporations (e.g. Disney) can monopolize culturally-significant works for decades after their creator’s death.

[javert]

One of the main problems with the current system is that corporations (e.g. Disney) can monopolize culturally-significant works for decades after their creator’s death.

So? How is it a problem that Disney has a monopoly on Pocahontas or Aladdin?

[jacquesm]

> How is it a problem that Disney has a monopoly on Pocahontas or Aladdin?

Because both of those already existed long before Disney 'reinvented' them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin

[waterlesscloud]

You can still tell and sell stories about them. It's done all the time. Nothing is stopping anyone from doing so.

You can't tell a story about Disney's Pocahontas or Aladdin, true. But you can about your own version of those characters.

[rbanffy]

> How is it a problem that Disney has a monopoly on Pocahontas or Aladdin?

Because if you try to tell any of those stories today, you'll have Disney's lawyers knocking on your door (if not the FBI knocking down your door). And don't forget those stories were already old when Walt Disney was a little boy.